


Athazagoraphobia

by Kindred_Dragon



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Depression, F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:54:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26959888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kindred_Dragon/pseuds/Kindred_Dragon
Summary: Athazagoraphobia is the fear of being forgotten, replaced, or abandoned.The gang has escaped Atlas, trying to get to Vacuo before Salem does. But they are stopped when Team Rwby gets caught in a cave collapse. Trapped and trying to find a way out, they decide to explore the cave, and when Yang hears something fall and hit the back of her neck, she doesn’t pay it any mind. Even when she starts hearing and thinking things she usually never does.At least, until she hears Blake tell her that she wishes she never came back.
Relationships: (slight) Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna & Sun Wukong, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie
Comments: 54
Kudos: 149





	1. Chapter 1

Things were finally going well for them. They got out of Atlas relatively unharmed, saved almost everyone in Mantle(Robyn stayed behind to help everyone else), and they even were able to get into Vacuo territory without much resistance.

They should have known things were never going to be that easy.

They were making good time trekking through Vaccuo when Blake suddenly stopped, a strange expression on her face.

Yang noticed right away, and she stopped right next to her. “What is it?” She asked, concern evident on her face.

Ruby and Weiss stopped as well, turning back to look at them, while the rest of the group continued moving forward.

“I don’t know, I just have this, weird feeling,” Blake replied, shaking her head. “It’s most likely nothing, though.”

Of course, it was something.

Up ahead, Penny stopped suddenly. “I believe there is an Earthquake about to happen!” She announced, strangely cheerfully.

Everyone froze on the spot, not sure what to do. Atlas never had earthquakes, and Vale's were so rare that they hadn’t experienced one yet.

When it started a few seconds later, they still had no idea what to do.

Jaune crouched to the ground, holding his head and having his semblance ready to go at a moment’s notice in case someone got hurt.

Nora braced herself against a nearby rock and dragged Ren with her. Ren immediately went to shield Nora, wanting to protect her as much as possible.

Qrow turned into a bird and flew up into the sky with Penny, who had Oscar and Maria in her arms.

Blake instinctively reached out and held onto Yang in a death grip, her ears pinning back.

Yang gritted her teeth, pulling Weiss and Ruby close to her as well, barely even registering when a giant crack in the earth split team RWBY and everyone else.

Then, the crack spread, encasing the team. 

Yang couldn’t tell when they started falling, but she heard Ruby, Weiss, and Blake crying out, and the rest of the group moving to try and help them. 

Then, it all went dark.

Yang woke up around ten minutes later to her team, whispering to each other. She opened her eyes, or she thought she did. She couldn’t tell; it was pitch black either way. She sat up with a groan, waiting to see if her eyes will adjust.

“Yang! You’re awake!” She heard someone, most likely Ruby, say from somewhere to her right.

“Thank goodness. I was worried we’d have to lug you around while we try to get out of here.” Ah, that was definitely Weiss.

Yang was about to stand up when she realized something. She couldn’t move her right arm.

She looked around in the darkness for any sign of it. _Where is it? Where is it? Whereisit? Whereisitwhereisit-_ Just as she was on the edge of panic from not finding it, she felt a warm, comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I have your arm,” Blake said softly, rubbing small circles calmingly into Yang’s shoulder, “It got damaged in the fall and automatically detached itself from you so that you wouldn’t accidentally get electrocuted.”

Yang relaxed and flashed Blake a small smile. She knew that Blake could see it with her Faunus vision.

“Yes, yes, we’re all glad that Yang’s not getting shocked anytime soon. But, we have a bit of a problem.” Weiss said, getting everyone’s attention back on her. “We’re trapped in a cave with no light, no reception, and no idea of where we are.”

“Can’t you use your dust to light up the area?” Yang asked.

“No, I used up all of my fire dust, remember?” She replied, and Yang could tell that she was shaking her head.

“What if we let Blake lead us?” Ruby suggested.

“That could work, but if we were to get into a fight, I couldn’t fight and tell you guys what’s happening,” Blake responded.

They continued to spitball ideas around when Yang had an idea.

“Hey, Blake! Is there any dust around?” She asked. If her idea worked, she didn’t want to blow them up accidentally.

Everyone went silent at her request, wondering what it was that she was thinking.

Blake answered a couple of moments later. “No, there doesn’t seem to be any dust around.”

Yang nodded, and a moment later, the cave that they were in was suddenly flooded with light. The source of it coming from Yang’s hair as she activated her semblance.

Ruby facepalmed. “Why didn’t we think of that earlier?”

“Are you sure you can keep that up for a while? Doesn’t it take energy to keep it lit?” Blake asked. And now that she could see again, Yang could clearly see the concern on her partner’s face.

Yang smiled and waved Blake off. “I’ll be fine. I’ll tell you guys if I get tired at all.”

Blake still looked hesitant, but then she nodded. “Alright.”

Ruby got a good look at her surroundings now that she could actually see. “Maybe we should follow the tunnel. There could be a way out.”

“Are we sure that’s safe?” Weiss asked, eyeing the end of the tunnel that was obscured in darkness. “There could be anything down there.”

“Do we have any other choice?” Ruby asked back, unconsciously reaching back to make sure Cresent Rose was still in its place. “Everyone else can’t get to us down here, and we have a better chance of finding a way out if we follow the tunnel.”

Weiss looked like she didn’t like it, but nodded anyway, seeing Ruby’s point. “Fine. Let’s just hope we don’t run into anything too dangerous.”

“Even if we do, I’m sure we can take it,” Ruby replied with an encouraging smile on her face. She then turned to Yang. “Since you’re the current light source, how about you lean the way?”

Yang nodded and began to walk down the tunnel; she moved most of her hair to the front to light up most of the tunnel ahead of them.

They walked in silence for a while, giving Yang some time to think.

 _I wonder if the others are trying to dig us out or not. I hope everyone is okay._ Soon, she found her thoughts drifting to Blake. _Was her first reaction to cling to me? Or just the person closest to her?_ Yang asked herself but stopped herself from thinking about it anymore. _I was probably just the person closest to her. I’m also pretty strong. Maybe she thought I could hold her up or something._

They came across a fort in the tunnel a couple of moments later.

“What do we do now?” Ruby asked, looking between both of the tunnels in front of her.

“How about I walk down the right one for a little bit, and Blake goes down the other. If we run into a dead-end, we turn back, and if we can see or hear anything in the distance, we come back and gather up everyone else to check it out?” Yang suggested, already edging towards the right tunnel.

Ruby seemed hesitant to agree, not liking the idea of splitting up, but she nodded anyway. “I can’t think of anything else. Just be careful and come back if you get into trouble.”

Yang smiled and gave her sister a playful salute. “Yes, ma’am.” She said, then jogged off down her tunnel, hearing Ruby mumble something grumpily, but Yang couldn’t make out the words.

Yang jogged down the tunnel for a couple of minutes before it widened out into a room. She perked up, thinking she had found a way out, but she found no other exits except the one that she came in from when she circled the room. 

_Dang, it._ She thought, crossing her arms over her chest. _I hope Blake had better luck than I did._

Sighing, she turned back around and was about to head back to her team, when she heard a soft In the ceiling above her, and seconds later, felt something sharp hit the back of her neck. _Mother-_

She instantly smacked the place where she felt it, only to find nothing there. Yang looked up at where she heard the crack and saw nothing there either. She sighed and shook her head; _it_ _was probably just a pebble. A really sharp pebble._ She thought, then walked back out the tunnel and back to her group.

Weiss and Ruby looked up as she approached. “Find anything?” Ruby asked hopefully.

Yang shook her head. “Just a dead end.” She pushed her hair back over her shoulders, so it was back to its normal hairstyle.

“Well, luckily for you, then, I think I found a way out,” Blake said from right next to them, making the rest of her team jump.

“When did you get here?!” Ruby asked, her eyes wide.

Blake shrugged. “Just a few seconds ago.”

“Forget about that, what did you say about finding a way out?” Weiss asked.

“I thought I saw sunlight down that tunnel, and I felt a breeze, so it’s a good bet that that way is the exit,” Blake replied.

Ruby grinned and started making her way down the mentioned tunnel. “Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!”

Blake and Weiss followed after Ruby, with Yang bringing up the back. Their positions reversed from before.

After a couple of minutes of walking, and with Yang making sure her thoughts didn’t wander off again, they saw what appeared to be sunlight ahead. They picked up the pace, and soon, the tunnel was light enough for Yang’s hair not to be needed anymore, so she dropped her semblance. 

She stumbled when she felt her energy drain. She was so sure that she would fall over, but she was held up by a pair of strong, warm arms.

“You okay, Yang?” Blake asked, her amber eyes swimming with concern.

Yang flashed her a smile and stood up straight. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit tired from using my semblance, is all.”

Blake nodded, “Alright, if you’re sure.” She said with a smile. They smiled at each other for a couple of minutes before Blake realized that she still had her arms around Yang, and quickly moved them away. “Sorry.”

Yang tried not to show her disappointment at the loss of Blake holding her. “Oh, It’s fine.” **_She probably doesn’t want to touch me more than necessary._ **

The thought surprised Yang, and she shook her head to clear it. _Where did that come from?_

Blake put a hand on her shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Yang, are you sure you’re okay?” 

Yang took a deep breath, then nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Blake looked like she was about to say something, but was cut off by Ruby yelling from down the tunnel.

“ _FREEDOM!”_

Yang smiled fondly and continued through the tunnel with Blake following behind her. 

She could think about that weird thought later. For now, they were getting out.


	2. Chapter 2

It only took them a couple of minutes to get out of the cave, and Yang had to chuckle at the sight in front of her.

Ruby was face down on the ground, apparently hugging the sand, and Weiss was staring at her as she had suddenly grown three heads.

“Ruby, we were in there for all of a half an hour; you don’t need to hug the ground.” Weiss huffed. “And if you get any sand on me, I will personally throw you to the grim.”

“Awwww, come on, Weiss, let her have a dramatic moment,” Yang said, starting to stretch her arms. That’s when she remembers that she only had one on at the moment.

She turned to look at Blake. “Oh, hey Blake, can I have my arm back now?”

Blake hesitated for a moment. “I’m not sure that's a good idea…”

Yang’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Why not?”

Reaching behind her back, she pulled out Yang’s arm from where it was resting. “It’s still pretty damaged…”

Yang’s eyes widened at the sight.  _ Pretty Damaged? That is an understatement.  _

The front panel on the forearm had become dislodged, exposing all the parts underneath it. A few of the wires have been cut, some parts were completely missing, her weapon was damaged, and to put a cherry on top, most of the fingers were broken.

“I’m sorry, Yang, but I don’t think that you can wear it until it gets repaired,” Blake said softly, not meeting Yang’s gaze.

Yang didn’t respond. She just stared at her damaged arm. She didn’t even notice when Ruby came up and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, we’ll get the parts and repair it. You’ve done worse to Ember Celia, remember?”

_ But Ember Celia wasn’t needed for me to do practically anything.  _ Yang thought somberly.  **_I’m useless now._ **

She didn’t say that, though, instead said, “Yeah, you’re right, Ruby. I’ll be okay without it for a while.” Yang looked up at Ruby and put on one of her fake smiles.

If Ruby could tell she was faking it, she didn’t say anything about it.

“Okay, good!” Ruby smiled back at her. “Now, we should probably focus on finding the others, or some shelter, before night falls.”

“Good idea, but does anyone know what direction we came from?” Weiss asked, “It was all jumbled up for me in the caves.”

“Maybe We should follow the direction of the cave just on top of it?” Blake suggested, glancing back at the mentioned cave.

“That’s probably the best idea we’re going to have.” Ruby turned and walked around the cave entrance. “Let’s get moving then, Team!”

Weiss followed after her, stumbling slightly on the sand because of her heels.

Blake chuckled softly to herself and started following them, but paused when she saw that Yang wasn’t moving. She looked over her shoulder at her partner. “Yang?”

Yang couldn’t hear her, too caught up in her own ‘thoughts.’  **_They didn’t even ask me my opinion or whether I agreed with the plan._ ** _ It was the best plan we have. They probably knew that I knew that.  _ **_But they couldn’t know if I had any better ideas. They could have asked. Did they think I was just too dumb to come up with anything better? Did they just think I was too dumb to come up with anything else?_ ** _ They know I’m not dumb. They trust me. They- _

Yang was broken out of her thoughts when she felt someone put a hand on her shoulder. “Yang. What’s going on?” A voice asked her.

She looked up and saw Blake staring at her, her eyes bright with worry. Yang hated seeing Blake like that.

“What do you mean? Nothing is going on.” Yang replied, giving her a smile that she hoped was convincing.

It didn’t look like it was if the way Blake’s brows furrowed at the sight of it. “Are you sure? I called out to you a few times, and you didn’t answer, and you were just standing there.”

Yang flinched inwardly, but kept her smile outwardly. She shrugged off Blake’s hand. “I’m sure. I just got caught up in my thoughts. Sorry for worrying you over nothing.”

Blake still didn’t look convinced. “You know you can talk to me, right? About anything.”

There it was, Yang had been hearing that her whole life.  **_Too bad, they rarely mean it._ ** She clenched her fist as subtly as she could. “I know, but seriously, I’m fine.”

Blake nodded slightly, but the worry never left her face. “Okay. Let's catch up with the others then.” She turned around and slowly walked after Weiss and Ruby, who had stopped a little bit away from them.

Yang took a deep breath, then followed her.

They walked in silence for a long while, looking out for any sign of their friends or of any wandering Grimm.

Yang made a point not to think about anything, focusing on her breathing instead.

She pretended not to notice the looks that Blake was sending her way.  _ Why can’t she see that I’m fine? _

Ruby suddenly stopped ahead of them. “Guys, I think we have company!” She shouted back, pulling out Crescent Rose.

Yang looked ahead of them and saw four Dromedon galloping their way.

Weiss took out Myrtenaster, spinning the dust chamber to make sure it wasn’t jammed.

Blake unsheathed Gambol Shroud, subtly angling herself to be in front of Yang.

Yang went to get into her battle stance, only to freeze when she remembered that she didn’t have her robotic arm.

She gave Ruby a wide-eyed look when she turned around to check on them.

Ruby gave her a sympathetic one back. “Yang, maybe you should sit this one out. We got this.”

She didn’t  _ sound  _ condescending, but for some reason, Yang felt like she was. But Yang didn’t say anything. She only nodded in reply. She backed away from the group, staring down at the ground as she did.

“ **You’d only get in the way anyway.** ” Yang snapped her head up at the sound of Weiss’s voice, her eyes wide in shock.

“What did you say, Weiss?” She asked, not even trying to hide the surprise in her voice.

Weiss gave her a confused look. “I… Didn’t say anything?” 

Yang shook her head, stepping back more. “Sorry, I must be hearing things. Maybe I’m more tired than I thought.”

Blake and Ruby gave each other concerned looks. But they didn’t get to say anything before the Dromedon arrived.

While the rest of her team was locked in combat, she looked around to see if anyone else was around, or anything to explain what she had heard.

She knows what she heard. She knows it.

But then why did nobody else hear it?

What was going on?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit shorter chapter! Sorry

The dromedon seemed like they were easy to take down, not that Yang could say anything. 

Ruby cut the head off of one before it could even charge up its spit, sending it to the ground, and it disintegrated into dust a couple of seconds later. 

Weiss conjured black glyphs under two of the approaching dromedon, freezing them in place. Blake launched herself at the grimm, dodging their acidic spit as she did. She dug her sword into the head of one of them, and Weiss summoned an ice spike to kill the other.

But that still left one more. And it was coming straight for Yang.

She didn’t know why, but for some reason, every muscle in her body felt frozen. She couldn’t move; she couldn’t look away. All she could do was stare at the grimm as it got closer and closer.

“Yang!” Blake cried out, her eyes going wide in fear. But Yang could barely register her. All she could focus on was the grimm coming at her.

Yang tried to move. She really did.  _ Come on,  move !  _ She thought to herself. But she was still standing there, frozen to her spot. She thought she was done until a bright silver light flooded her vision. And suddenly, the dromedon wasn’t there anymore. 

Whatever had been stopping Yang from moving suddenly disappeared, and she stumbled back. But she could barely bring her thoughts together when a big red blur ran into her.

“Yang!” Ruby shouted, looking over her, worriedly, “Are you okay? What happened?”

“I-I don’t know,” Yang replied, shaking her head and trying to clear her head even a little bit. “I just… froze.”

“We could see that. But is there any reason as to  _ why  _ you froze?” Weiss asked as she walked over, Blake not far behind.

Yang shook her head again, this time doing it in reply. “I don’t know. When I went to dodge, it was like every muscle in my body decided not to listen to me.” She shivered at the memory.

Blake looked over Yang for any sign of injuries, carefully avoiding touching her hair. Once she seemed satisfied that Yang didn’t have any major injuries, she stepped back. 

_She didn’t even make eye contact with me._ **_What if she’s disappointed in me?_** Yang pushed the thought to the back of her mind, taking a step back from everyone.

“Don’t worry, guys, I’m fine now. Let’s focus on finding th-” Yang started but was cut off by the sound of something flying at them.

They all turned to look at the noise, and Ruby cheered once they could see what, or who, it was.

“Penny! They found us!” Ruby cheered, backing up as Penny landed in front of them.

“Salutations!” Penny greeted, a bright smile on her face, “We couldn’t reach you on your scrolls, so I flew around to see if I could find you.”

“We’re glad you did! I don’t know what we would have done if you didn’t.” Ruby said, running up and hugging Penny once she had fully landed.

“Agreed. Thank you, Penny.” Weiss came up and joined the hug, a small smile on her face.

Penny hugged them back tightly, lifting them off the ground in the process. “You’re welcome!” She set them down, not noticing how Weiss and Ruby struggled for breath. “We should probably get back to the others now. They’re all worried about you.”

Ruby nodded, finally catching her breath. “Yeah. Lead the way, Penny!”

Penny turned back towards where she came and started to walk back. “This way, everyone!”

Ruby and Weiss glanced at each other for a moment before following her. They had matching smiles on their faces.

Blake walked after them, only looking back at Yang to make sure she was following them as well.

Yang waited for a second before following them as well. She drifted back into her thoughts.

_ What was up with me back there? Why did I freeze up like that? That was so weird.  _ Yang kept her eyes on the ground.  **_I couldn’t even defend myself. Or even get out of the way. What's wrong with me?_ **

Something flashed in the corner of Yang’s eye, and she turned her head to look at it.  **A black raven sat on the sand a few feet in front of her. Watching her.** Yang blinked, and it was gone.

Shivers went down Yang’s spine.  _ What was that? It looked like…  _ She shot that thought down quickly, focusing on the ground beneath her feet again.  _ It was probably just a shadow. That’s all. _

_ Then why did it feel like something else? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe how much people like this, thank you!  
> This wasn't the original concept I was going for, But I still am liking doing it.  
> If I can figure out how to do my original concept, I'll probably write that too.


	4. Chapter 4

They were walking for a good while before they saw the others. It was starting to get dark out, so they had set up camp near a bunch of rocks for shelter.

Yang started to notice something was off once they got closer. Everyone seemed to be outside of the tent, around a fire that they had got going. That wasn’t what was off, though.  _ Why are there two more people over there? Who are they? _

Nora noticed them first. “You’re alright!” She shouted, running over and embracing Ruby in what looked like a bone-crushing hug.

“Ye-a-h.” Ruby choked out, her face twisting in pain.

Ren put a hand on Nora’s shoulder, having walked over with Qrow and Jaune as soon as they noticed them. “Nora, let her breath.”

Nora huffed, not wanting to, but she let go of Ruby anyway.

“We’re so glad you guys are okay!” Jaune said, then he paused, “You guys  _ are  _ okay, right?” 

Weiss nodded, coming up next to Ruby. “We’re all okay. Our auras absorbed most of the damage.”

Yang tuned out the rest of the conversation, looking instead back at the campfire to see who else was there. Her eyes widened once she realized who they were.

Blake noticed as well, her jaw dropping. “...Sun?” 

Sun got up from the campfire and bounded over to them, a mischievous grin on his face. “Heya, Blake!”

Without wasting a second, Blake ran up to Sun and hugged him tightly. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

Yang felt something reverberate through her chest at the sight of them, a feeling she wasn’t a stranger to.  _ Why do I feel jealous? They’re just friends.  _ **_I think._ **

Blake pulled away from the hug so that she could look at him. “What  _ are _ you doing here?”

“Me and my team were escorting some people through the desert, and me and Neptune got separated from them. We ran into Jaune and the others an hour later and decided to camp out with them until morning. Then we could all go back to Shade together!” Sun explained, the grin never leaving his face.

Blake perked up. “That’s great! It’ll be nice to have you back.”

“Sounds like you missed me,” Sung said with a smirk, nudging her playfully.

Blake rolled her eyes and nudged him back. “Only a little.”

Yang walked past them and over to the fire, where she sat down without a word.  _ They seem to be close.  _ **_Maybe he’d be better for Blake than I would. But it’s not like she likes me back anyway._ **

She didn’t notice the looks that her team gave each other.

The rest of the group came back over to the fire; Jaune, Qrow, and Ren sat down where they were before. Ruby sat down next to Yang, with Weiss sitting next to her, Blake sat down on Yang’s other side, Sun sat next to her, and Penny sat down next to Weiss.

There was a moment of silence, then, “... What happened to your arm?” 

She could almost feel the tension fill the air at that comment. And she swore that she heard Sun let out a mumbled “Neptune and his big mouth.”

Yang took a moment before answering. “It got caught in the rocks. I can’t wear it until it gets repaired.”

“May I see it?” Penny asked, holding out her hand. 

Blake glanced at Yang to see if it was okay and handed it over to Penny at Yang’s nod.

Penny looked it over as thoroughly as she could, twisting it around in her hands. “... It needs some new parts to get it working fully again. But I could make it so that it won’t electrocute you and will do some basic functions.”

“Will I be able to fight?” Yang asked, trying not to let her hopes up.

Penny shook her head, handing the arm back. “I wouldn’t suggest it. It would most likely cause irreparable damage.”

Yang tried not to let the disappointment show on her face.  _ It’s not Penny’s fault that I’m  _ **_useless_ ** _ without my arm. _

Yang could tell that Ruby wanted to say something, maybe comfort her, but Yang stood up before she could say anything.

“There’s nothing we can do about it now,” Yang said, walking towards where the sleeping bags were set up. “See what you can do for now. I’m heading to bed.”

She ignored the stares that followed her. She grabbed her sleeping bag, set it up, and got into it. 

She tried to get to sleep, but it wouldn’t come. After a while, she gave up and simply stared out into the distance.

Every once in awhile, she would hear some bits of the conversation taking place over by the campfire.

“--Yang’ll be fine. She’s always been a tough little firecracker--”

“-- I’m just worried about her. She’s been acting strange--”

“ **Maybe we should ditch her. It’s not like she’ll be of any use to us--** ”

That caught Yang’s attention, but when she had looked back to see who was talking, it didn’t look like anyone had said anything or even reacted to it.

Shaking her head, she turned back around and closed her eyes, trying once again to sleep.

This time, sleep found her.

But it definitely wasn’t a good thing. Not this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for giving so much kudos, I honestly did not expect this to be so popular!  
> Also, please comment on this, whether its criticism, predictions, or even just compliments I love seeing what you guys think!


	5. Chapter 5

Yang woke up back at Patch. Just like she had for the past year. She had a small smile on her face, just like she had for the past year. She felt amazing, just like she had for the past year.

But, unlike the past year, the smile faded quickly. She was alone in her bed, and the other side of the bed was cold. Usually, Blake would stay in bed until Yang woke up, and if she didn’t, Yang would still be able to hear her in a nearby room. Blake rarely left the house without her. Something must have happened.

Yang rolled out of bed and ran downstairs quickly, grabbing her gauntlets just in case. 

When she got to the kitchen, she found a note lying on the table, along with Blake’s scroll. That was very weird. Blake took that thing with her everywhere.

Hands trembling, Yang picked up the note and started to read it.

_ Yang, _

_ I’m sorry to have to tell you like this, but I can’t be with you anymore. _

_ Whether you’ve realized it or not, you’ve changed. And I don’t like where that change is most likely leading to. You’ve been acting more and more like-  _ Something had been scribbled out so that she couldn’t read it.

_ This is goodbye. Don’t try and find me. _

_ -Blake _

Yang clenched the paper in her hands, crinkling and ripping the paper.  _ How DARE she?! After everything, I’ve done for her?!  _ She thought angrily. Her eyes had turned blood red. 

Something in Yang told her that this was wrong, that she shouldn’t be acting like this, but she ignored it. She slammed the note into the table, smashing it into pieces. 

Yang growled in frustration as splinters dug into her hand as a result. She stormed into the bathroom to get them out and clean her hands. 

She only looked up once she was done, staring into the mirror that reflected her face back at her.

Except it didn’t.

Instead, there was Adam and his and his angry sneer staring back at her. His cold blue eyes piercing her soul.

Yang screamed and punched the mirror, only for her fist to sink into the mirror, like she had punched glue. She tried pulling her fist away, but it had started to suck her in.

Try as she might, she couldn’t getaway. She was pulled into the mirror and into a place she had seen a thousand times before.

She was at Beacon, or what was left of it. She looked down at her hands and saw that she had two completely normal arms. 

_ I’ve… seen this before... _ She thought, but she didn’t have much time to think about it. She heard footsteps coming towards her.

When she looked up, she saw Adam coming towards her slowly.

She gasped and felt a sudden weight on her arms and glanced down to see Ember Celica. She looked back up at Adam and began to shoot at him, but the shots went straight through without affecting him.

She tried reshooting him, but Ember Celia and her arm were gone. Yang’s eyes widened, snapping back towards Adam. She nearly screamed when she saw that he was right in front of her.

Adam smirked down at her and drew his sword. “You really thought you could kill me?”

They were on the cliffs by the waterfall. Yang had her metal arm and Ember Celica back.

Blake was nowhere in sight.

Adam moved around her, slowly getting closer and closer. “You’re too weak to even dodge a blade that’s going to cut off a limb, and you think that you can kill  _ me?! _ ”

Yang felt her left arm trembling, but she couldn’t move to stop it. She couldn’t move at all.

Adam was right in front of her now, looking down at her. “You’re weak; you rely too much on other people. You push them away from yourself.” He leaned down to get right in her face. “You want to know why everyone leaves you? Why no one wants to be around you?”

Yang tried to shake her head,  _ no.  _ But she still couldn’t move. She could only stare into his cold dead eyes.

“It’s because you’re useless. You make everything worse for people. You but in where you’re not wanted.” Adam smirked evilly. “And you’re a failure, and you fail at everything you do. You are very easily replaced. Why would people want you if they could have someone better that doesn’t come with all the flaws you have? Like Penny. Or Sun.”

Yang felt tears stinging her eyes, and her whole body was trembling.

“I’m doing everyone a favor,” Adam said, backing up. He held his sword up and began to glow a bright red. 

That was all the warning Yang got before bright red flashed across her vision, and she was sent flying off of the cliff. There was a large cut on her stomach that was gushing blood. She hit a rock that was below them and fall into the water.

Then, everything went black.

“No one will ever stay. They will all leave you behind.”

  
  


Yang woke up with a gasp, tears streaming down her face. Her hand automatically went to her stomach, where the gash was. When she saw that nothing was there, she quickly looked at her surroundings.

She was in Vacuo. Everyone was here. Adam was dead. She was safe.

She was lucky that Blake hadn’t been on watch and was sleeping a bit away from her. Blake would have definitely heard her and came over to check on her.

Blake’s ear twitched, but she didn’t wake up, which made Yang even luckier since Blake was usually such a light sleeper.

Yang took a deep breath and held a hand over her racing heart, trying to calm herself down.

_ I hadn’t had a dream that bad since I first came home from Beacon.  _ She thought to herself.  _ Maybe losing my arm again triggered it. _

She looked over at Blake, who was sleeping peacefully, Yang’s arm right next to her.

Yang smiled softly, watching her for a few seconds before her eyes caught on something moving behind Blake. Looking at it, she saw Sun’s tail wrapped around Blake’s waist. He had either cuddled up to Blake while he was asleep or…

_ Or Blake let him do that. She might have wanted to sleep with him beside her.  _ Yang ignored the way this made her feel. She shouldn’t have feelings like that for her partner, anyway. It would mess with the team dynamics too much.

Yang sighed quietly and laid back down, looking up at the stars. She listened to the wind blowing, the sounds of Ruby’s quiet snores from right next to her, the louder snores of Qrow from a bit away, the even louder snores of Nora from the other side of the camp, and, strangely, the somehow even  _ louder  _ snores of Maria.  _ Seriously, how can an old lady be that loud? _

She took another deep breath, finally feeling her heartbeat slow down.

Her thoughts slowed to a stop as she focused on everything around her. She was slowly starting to forget the dream. But one thing still was left imprinted on her mind. That final thing Adam had said to her,  _ “No one will ever stay. They will all leave you behind.”  _

Yang shook her head.  _ He’s wrong. The dream was wrong. It had to be.  _ She took another deep breath.  **_But what if it wasn’t?_ **

Yang dismissed the thought, closing her eyes and trying to get to sleep. Completely unaware of the glowing eyes that had begun watching her the moment she woke up.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Ya'll are gonna hate me.

Yang didn’t sleep again that night. Try as she might, she just couldn’t fall back asleep. So, when it came to her turn to keep watch, she pretended to be asleep when Jaune came to get her. So she wouldn’t worry about anyone.

She didn’t wake up Ruby when her shift ended, choosing to stay watch the rest of the night. It sure beat laying awake doing nothing for hours, that was for sure. 

Everyone started to wake up when the sun had barely poked over the horizon. Blake was awake first, like always. She gave Yang a confused look when she saw her on watch, but she didn’t say anything about it.

Everyone else started to wake up slowly, Nora being the last to do so.

“Alright, everyone!” Ruby called once everyone was fully awake. “We’re going to eat, pack up, and then head out. Sound good?”

There were little murmurs of agreement as everyone sat around the now-dead fire. Jaune handed out the food that they had packed, and everyone ate in mostly-silence until Weiss broke it.

“Yang,” She started. She had pulled out her scroll and was looking at their auras. “Why hasn’t your aura gone back to normal? It’s still in the yellow.”

Yang’s brows furrowed in confusion, and she pulled out her scroll to see for herself. Sure enough, her aura had a good chunk taken out of it. “Huh, that’s weird…”

“Could it have something to do with the fact that you woke up in the middle of the night?” Penny suggested, “You also didn’t seem to get much sleep after that, as you were still on watch until this morning.”

Yang cursed her luck. _Darn_ _ it! Of course, it was Penny’s turn on watch, and of course, she noticed when I woke up. _

“Yang? Is something wrong?” Ruby asked.

Yang shook her head and crossed her arms. “Nothing’s wrong; I just woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep. I’m fine.”

Blake was giving Yang a concerned look, but before she could say anything, Jaune cut her off.

“Before this dissolved into a fight,” He said, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “I could just boost her aura back to normal, and I’ve got plenty to spare.”

Yang shivered. She suddenly had a gut feeling that she  **shouldn’t let him do that** , that it would  **only end up in disaster for her** . 

“No thanks, Jaune, save it for someone who needs it,” Yang said, giving him the best fake smile that she could.

“Are you sure? It would be no trouble-”

Yang cut him off with a, “Really, I’m fine.” And stood up. “I’m going to get started on packing everything up.”

She quickly walked away from the group, not wanting to answer any of the questions that she knew that they had. 

That gut feeling she had had didn’t sit right with her. In other words, she had a gut feeling about her gut feeling. The thought would have made her laugh any other time, but this time it just made her feel sick.

She shook her head and put all of her focus on either the task at hand or her breathing. Not allowing herself to think about what just happened.

She was so focused that she didn’t even notice when Blake had come up behind her until she cleared her throat, which made her jump a couple of inches into the air.

“Yang, we’re all ready to go.” She said softly, giving her a concerned look. 

Yang gave her a confused look back at her.  _ But I haven’t finished- … Oh.  _ When she looked back at what she  _ thought _ had been the cans of food they had brought, she saw that she was actually arranging a bunch of smaller rocks.

A hot blush took over her face, and she stood up, not making eye contact with Blake. “O-okay, let’s get going.” She mumbled, walking ahead.

_ Why do I have to be so stupid?  _ She asked herself, keeping her eyes trained on the ground.  _ Blake must think I’m a total idiot. No wonder she chose Sun over me. _

“Alright, now that everyone is here, let’s move out!” Qrow called as he started to walk ahead.

Yang stayed to the back of the group, watching everyone as they talked to each other. Ruby was talking with Qrow, Neptune was chatting with Weiss and Penny, Maria was walking with Oscar, though they didn’t say anything, Jaune, Ren, and Nora were together, and Sun was with Blake, obviously.

She didn’t notice Blake’s worried glances or the fact that Sun seemed to be encouraging her. All she saw was them talking and smiling, and that Sun had his arm wrapped around Blake. Yang had to look back down at the ground.

Then, she heard it, just barely, but she heard it.

“ **You know, I wish I hadn't even gone back to Team Rwby.** ” Blake said, “ **Yang, specifically. I don’t know how much longer I can stand her. She can’t do anything right.** ”

Yang could feel her heart shatter.  _ She... She couldn’t have meant that… Right? _

_ … Right? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Hah?


	7. Chapter 7

Yang could hardly think. It felt as though every ounce of her sadness… No. That’s not the right word. Her  _ despair _ had been amplified tenfold. It clouded her mind. She couldn’t… think. 

Blake’s words kept echoing through her head.  **_“I wish I hadn’t even gone back…”_ ** Yang could feel the tears starting to burn behind her eyes.  **_“Yang… I don’t know how much longer I can stand her.”_ ** Her left arm started to shake, and she had to bring her robotic one over to steady it.  **_“She can’t do anything right.”_ **

Blake had almost always been there for Yang. She never seemed to doubt her abilities before.

Another memory flashed into Yang’s mind.  _ “I’ll protect you.” _

_ Maybe…  _ Yang thought, looking down at the ground.  _ Maybe she’s right. Maybe I can’t do anything right. Maybe that’s why she felt the need to protect me. Maybe… _

Yang glanced back at Blake and Sun for a moment only to see that they were looking at her. She looked away quickly, and she didn’t even see Sun’s expression. But, she saw Blake’s. She saw how Blake looked at her. And it broke her heart even more.

Blake’s eyes were  **cold and full of hatred.** It was a look that was never directed towards her before. It wasn’t a look that Yang thought even Adam got. 

Yang felt like she was going to be sick. If someone could see emotions, she’d probably have a deep blue storm swirling around her.

She didn’t know how much time had passed before she could finally think clearly again. But it was long enough for Blake to come up next to her without her noticing.

“..ang.. Yang?” Blake’s voice filtered in, sounding very worried. “Are you okay?”

The concerned tone in her voice threw Yang for a loop. Why would someone who practically said that they hated her suddenly be concerned for her?

“Yang. What’s going on?” Blake tried again, reaching for Yang’s robotic hand.

Yang tensed up and pulled it out of her reach instinctively. “What do you mean? Nothing is going on. I’m fine.”

Blake’s eyes narrowed, and she walked in front of her, blocking Yang from walking and further. “I don’t need Robyn’s semblance to know that you’re lying, Yang. I have been calling your name for the past few minutes, and you only just responded.” 

Yang mentally flinched at that.  _ How could I not hear her? Maybe something is wrong with me. _

But Blake continued before Yang could respond, “Not only that, but you’ve been acting different ever since the cave! You've been staring into space, you’ve been distant, you refused Jaune’s help, and I saw your arm starting to shake earlier. Something is going on, and you need to tell us what.”

_ I can’t tell them. It’ll only make them want to abandon me more. _ Yang thought, starting to grit her teeth. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m fine.” She replied, keeping her voice as level as she could.

“But you’re not! You’re not okay, Yang, and we all can see it. So stop denying it!” Blake’s ears pressed back in frustration.

“She’s right, Yang. You... Have been acting strange.” She heard Weiss say.

It was then that Yang noticed that everyone was watching them. Watching  _ her. _

Yang looked at all of their expressions. Most of them looked concerned or confused in Sun and Neptune’s case, but Ruby and Qrow...

Ruby looked…  **annoyed. She was tapping her foot impatiently, like this was the most inconvenient thing in her life, and she just wanted to be done with it.**

**Qrow looked completely done.** Yang even heard him mutter,  **“What is wrong with her now? Maybe Raven was right to leave..”**

Blake’s expression turned sympathetic. “Yang… We’re here to help. It’s okay not to be okay..”

Yang sighed softly, her walls finally starting to crack. “I-”

“Yang,” Penny said suddenly, her eyes dimming back to normal.  _ When had they started glowing? _ Yang asked herself.

Blake looked annoyed at the interruption.

“Are you aware that you have a-” Before Penny could even finish, a roar cut her off.

Almost everyone jumped in surprise, looking around for the source of the noise. 

“What on Remnant was that?!” Weiss screeched, taking out her weapon.

The sand was visibly rising in the distance as if a huge dune was speeding towards them.

Sun tensed up and took out his staff, everyone else following suit. “It’s a--”

A huge, ugly-looking grimm rose from the sand; its four fangs spread wide as it let out another roar.

“Blindworm!”

Yang could only think one thing as the grimm turned its nasty head towards her.

_ Well... Grapes. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehe. No explanation for you. Any guesses as to what Penny was going to say?

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism welcome!


End file.
